this thanksgiving my mother and i decided to take a trip to florida. not having ever been one for traditional thanksgivings, i was thrilled at the prospect of spending the holiday on a beach. which is exactly what we did.
i arrived in tampa thanksgiving day, from which we drove directly to st. pete, found our hotel and plopped ourselves down in the sand. there were no clouds in the sky and the sun was beating down on our lounge chairs. after we were sufficiently sunned, we headed across the street for our thanksgiving dinner. i got a rather atraditional (but florida appropriate) shrimp scampi and turkey soup (to assuage you purists out there). we had time for a leisurely game of shuffleboard (a nail-biter, but i won in the end) and were able to watch the sun go down over the gulf before catching an evening showing of the latest harry potter installment (in imax, no less). now that is my kind of thanksgiving.
the next day we continued with our harry potter theme in a trek to universal studios, which we visited primarily for the ‘wizarding world’ attraction. the crowds were as big as we feared but we were able to get on all the rides we wanted, largely thanks to the ingenious ‘single rider’ line. you tend to get split up, but you get through the line in a fraction of the time. ‘why doesn’t everyone do this?’ we wondered. the wizarding world itself was quite well done. the much-anticipated butterbeer was delicious (we had to go back for a second), the streets and shops looked quite authentic, and the castle ride was spectacular. our major complaint (aside from the throngs of people) was that it wasn’t bigger. surely this could be made into its own theme park.
the next day we were back in st. pete just in time for the big saturday farmers’ market. it did not disappoint. i would say it was one of the best i’ve been to – easily top five. there we found not only produce and food (french pastries, flavored pastas, barbecue) but all sorts of crafts and food vendors representing at least 20 regions of the world from cuba to israel to france. mom tried a knisch, i had some kind of latin american egg tortilla grilled cheese, and we both split a raspberry smoothie. after some walking around and several purchases i treated myself to a salted caramel popsicle that was divine (as are most all things caramel).
from there we headed to the chihuly collection. being something of a glass aficionado i’m always interested in seeing chihuly’s work, which isn’t hard as it’s all over the world. the collection was private and rather expensive but had some wonderful pieces. pictures were prohibited but i managed to get around that. i’m nothing if not a master of the sneak-and-shoot.
though key west is small the thought of carting our bags to wherever our hotel turned out to be was less than appealing. so we hopped on a rickshaw and got our first taste of the island. the houses seemed charming, lined with palm trees and bushes with purple and orange flowers that seem to grow in greece and hawaii and everywhere that’s tropical and beautiful. we arrived at our hotel, paid a monstrous fee for our rickshaw, and get ready to explore on foot.
having satisfied our desire to be at the southernmost point of the US, we headed toward the other end of the island to catch the nightly sunset festival. this ended up being another $20+ rickshaw ride. what a racket. the sunset ‘festival’ turned out to be little more than a few street performers whose main acts seemed to be plying people for money. there were a few other vendors here and there, whose offerings were handmade but no less cheesy than most of the wares in any of the many souvenir stores. i attribute this abundance of touristy shops to the cruise ships that seem to come in regularly. the sunset itself, unfortunately, did not live up to key west’s reputation. the day was unusually cloudy and the sun meekly peaked through the clouds for only a few minutes.
the next day we decided to rent bikes to see the rest of the island. this was probably the best decision we made – they cost $10 for the day (that would be less than half of one of our rickshaw rides) and we were able to leisurely explore the streets on our bright blue beachcombers. we wandered through all the streets, admiring the pretty pastel of the stucco and shutters, the Victorian gingerbread details and the tropic vegetation that lined the streets. once we were sufficiently satisfied that we had seen most every palm-tree lined street we headed back up the main road where we stopped at the butterfly sanctuary on a whim. it was wonderful – they had at least a dozen varieties all fluttering around the flowers and fruits. we got some lovely pictures, although some were particularly elusive. it must have been mating season because those guys were chasing each other around pretty fast.
i arrived in tampa thanksgiving day, from which we drove directly to st. pete, found our hotel and plopped ourselves down in the sand. there were no clouds in the sky and the sun was beating down on our lounge chairs. after we were sufficiently sunned, we headed across the street for our thanksgiving dinner. i got a rather atraditional (but florida appropriate) shrimp scampi and turkey soup (to assuage you purists out there). we had time for a leisurely game of shuffleboard (a nail-biter, but i won in the end) and were able to watch the sun go down over the gulf before catching an evening showing of the latest harry potter installment (in imax, no less). now that is my kind of thanksgiving.
the next day we continued with our harry potter theme in a trek to universal studios, which we visited primarily for the ‘wizarding world’ attraction. the crowds were as big as we feared but we were able to get on all the rides we wanted, largely thanks to the ingenious ‘single rider’ line. you tend to get split up, but you get through the line in a fraction of the time. ‘why doesn’t everyone do this?’ we wondered. the wizarding world itself was quite well done. the much-anticipated butterbeer was delicious (we had to go back for a second), the streets and shops looked quite authentic, and the castle ride was spectacular. our major complaint (aside from the throngs of people) was that it wasn’t bigger. surely this could be made into its own theme park.
the next day we were back in st. pete just in time for the big saturday farmers’ market. it did not disappoint. i would say it was one of the best i’ve been to – easily top five. there we found not only produce and food (french pastries, flavored pastas, barbecue) but all sorts of crafts and food vendors representing at least 20 regions of the world from cuba to israel to france. mom tried a knisch, i had some kind of latin american egg tortilla grilled cheese, and we both split a raspberry smoothie. after some walking around and several purchases i treated myself to a salted caramel popsicle that was divine (as are most all things caramel).
from there we headed to the chihuly collection. being something of a glass aficionado i’m always interested in seeing chihuly’s work, which isn’t hard as it’s all over the world. the collection was private and rather expensive but had some wonderful pieces. pictures were prohibited but i managed to get around that. i’m nothing if not a master of the sneak-and-shoot.
we rounded off our day in st. pete with a tapas lunch at ceviche, with beautiful Spanish tiles and a lovely view of the water, which came recommended by my dear friend kelly. on our way out of town we stopped by an authentic little moroccan shop and haslam’s, a new/used bookstore and an old haunt of my parents’.
that night we drove to ft. myers, which turns out to be a godawful tourist trap. every store looked like the ones you’d find just off the boardwalk – buzzing fluorescent lights, abrasive ‘tropical’ music and shelves upon shelves packed with seashells, ‘pirate’ placards, and hemp necklaces. our hotel check-in was actually inside one of these horrible shops, which made us a bit nervous, but the room itself, behind the strip, turned out to be just fine.
we set out early the next morning to catch our boat to key west. the boat itself was nice enough, though i neglected to buy any dramamine so the trip itself was a little rocky. three hours later though we were glad to arrive on the island.
though key west is small the thought of carting our bags to wherever our hotel turned out to be was less than appealing. so we hopped on a rickshaw and got our first taste of the island. the houses seemed charming, lined with palm trees and bushes with purple and orange flowers that seem to grow in greece and hawaii and everywhere that’s tropical and beautiful. we arrived at our hotel, paid a monstrous fee for our rickshaw, and get ready to explore on foot.
we first set out for lunch. after exploring a few options near us we made our way to the main road which had, besides sundry souvenir shops, ice cream parlors and cafes, a few nicer restaurants. we settled on a small deli where we could get some cuban sandwiches. we were in key west, after all. from there we continued on to the hemingway house, a shady house with overgrown trees and bushes through which wander some 44 cats, all descendants of hemingway’s own. our guide through the house was knowledgeable and succinct, though his boston accent seemed a little incongruous with the setting. still we enjoyed seeing his photos and paintings (he had rather terrible taste, i thought), his studio and the urinal from which one of his wives contrived a fountain. how very ‘duchamp’ of her.
from here we set out to see the ‘southernmost point’, one of those tourist landmarks that everyone just has to get their picture with, like four corners or mt. rushmore. we skipped the line for picture-taking in favor of a slice of key lime pie sold by a local cart vendor. ‘made fresh yesterday,’ he told us. ‘best on the island.’ while i did not sample any other key lime pies on the island, i’m inclined to believe him. it was delicious.
having satisfied our desire to be at the southernmost point of the US, we headed toward the other end of the island to catch the nightly sunset festival. this ended up being another $20+ rickshaw ride. what a racket. the sunset ‘festival’ turned out to be little more than a few street performers whose main acts seemed to be plying people for money. there were a few other vendors here and there, whose offerings were handmade but no less cheesy than most of the wares in any of the many souvenir stores. i attribute this abundance of touristy shops to the cruise ships that seem to come in regularly. the sunset itself, unfortunately, did not live up to key west’s reputation. the day was unusually cloudy and the sun meekly peaked through the clouds for only a few minutes.
we gave up and headed towards the harbor where there was said to be a light display for christmas. after asking where said light display was, we were told we were in it.. a few of the boats had strings of lights hanging from their masts and a few bulbs hung along the wooden poles of the harbor. not quite what we had envisioned. still, here we had fresh seafood and a pina colada away from the crowds of the tourists.
the next day we decided to rent bikes to see the rest of the island. this was probably the best decision we made – they cost $10 for the day (that would be less than half of one of our rickshaw rides) and we were able to leisurely explore the streets on our bright blue beachcombers. we wandered through all the streets, admiring the pretty pastel of the stucco and shutters, the Victorian gingerbread details and the tropic vegetation that lined the streets. once we were sufficiently satisfied that we had seen most every palm-tree lined street we headed back up the main road where we stopped at the butterfly sanctuary on a whim. it was wonderful – they had at least a dozen varieties all fluttering around the flowers and fruits. we got some lovely pictures, although some were particularly elusive. it must have been mating season because those guys were chasing each other around pretty fast.
at our lunch we savored our last fresh seafood and one more pina colada before heading back to the boat. this time armed with dramamine (our only tangible purchase on the island, i’m proud to say), the trip went much more smoothly. overall key west had been rather underwhelming – what charm it must have once had now seemed overshadowed by kitschiness and gimmicks for cruise-hoppers. still, it had its advantages too. all in all this long-weekend southern excursion made for a welcome break in an otherwise dreary month.
